Z790 mobo...ROG, Asus, Gigabyte, etc...which is better and why?

darrenkarp

darrenkarp

darrenkarp

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Hi All,

Looking for advice on a Z790 mobo. Not at all interested in RGB lights and fancy things like that but want something of reliable and quality build. I normally go for ROG but they price of them seems high compared with other brands and I have no idea why as I'm simply not technical enough. Can somebody offer some advice or cut through the marketing BS and let me know what I should look at buying?

Cheers
Daz
 
Generally speaking, if you're just a gamer and not planning to peg a 13900K at silly volts/clocks, then I'm pretty sure any board will do. I'd have zero concern about buying the entry-level boards like Asus/MSI Z790-P or ASRock Riptide. MSI's Z690-A was one of the cheapest Z690 boards and it was perfectly fine.

Higher-end boards are more likely to have:
- Beefier VRMs and heatsinks (which run cooler and support higher clocks).
- Higher PCI-E spec for graphics (though I haven't seen any Z790 boards that don't have PCI-E 5.0 for the graphics card) & M.2 slots.
- More M.2 slots.
- More USB ports.
- Higher-spec USB ports.
- Higher-spec/faster speeds for LAN/Wifi.
- Thunderbolt & USB Type-C on the rear I/O (some of the cheaper boards still have headers, but you have to buy the panel).
- Higher-spec audio, SPDIF on the rear I/O and sometimes a DAC/AMP (audio isn't my thing).
- Improved overclocking support, e.g. more PCB layers (higher memory clocks), overclocking profiles and recovery features.
- Troubleshooting features like post codes, clear CMOS button, onboard power button.
 
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darrenkarp said:
Great...so given what you say above, what board for under £300 would make your top 3?
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In the absence of any reviews / thermal testing, then (without wifi) I'd go for the Gigabyte Z790 D. It is the cheapest of the entry-level boards (except for ASRock) and they've been performing quite well thermally with their newer boards, so I'm hopeful that will continue. Only snag is that it only has 3 M.2.
 
darrenkarp said:
Hi All,

Looking for advice on a Z790 mobo. Not at all interested in RGB lights and fancy things like that but want something of reliable and quality build. I normally go for ROG but they price of them seems high compared with other brands and I have no idea why as I'm simply not technical enough. Can somebody offer some advice or cut through the marketing BS and let me know what I should look at buying?

Cheers
Daz
Click to expand...
I would buy the cheapest ASRock as their returns rates are the lowest.
 
Thanks. So, hopefully the last question on the subject...I still don't get how the same brand and Z790 mobo can have so many versions at such differing price points...what am I missing / not understanding?
 
darrenkarp said:
Although I've heard of the ASRock brand I've never used them. Perhaps I should try. I see things like 16+1+1, 20+2, etc. what does that mean?
Click to expand...

In a really lazy answer: "more is betterer", but (to compare boards) you really need to understand exactly how they're configured, the components used and their ratings. Generally speaking, if you have more phases, then the board is likely to be more stable and cooler running at higher volts/clocks, but since it is now a marketing feature, we need people like buildzoid to cut through the BS and tell us simply which board is better. This is buildzoid's playlist on the subject if you have a few hours to spare: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLpS0n7xxSadUrlcFiJBAEGBzGet16k92k

darrenkarp said:
Thanks. So, hopefully the last question on the subject...I still don't get how the same brand and Z790 mobo can have so many versions at such differing price points...what am I missing / not understanding?
Click to expand...

It is something like 70% marketing, 30% features. If we take Asus, their PRIME boards are aimed at being 'affordable' boards for desktop use, TUF used to be a 'durable' brand (like they used better components, bigger heatsinks, etc), but now it is really just a gaming brand and ROG is their high-end brand. Like said above, if you don't need the extra features then you're wasting your money, for the average gamer any Z790 board is going to be more than fine. If you look at the list I wrote in post #2 and nothing stands out as "oh, hey, I want that", or "or I really care about that", then just buy the cheapest board from your preferred brand.
 
It seems even the lowest cost ROG Z790 DD5 board in the UK is currently £440 compared to the ASRock at £240. That's a huge difference and I'm sure there's equally huge differences between the two boards and I need to understand these differences just in case there's a feature I think I may need either now or in the future...I'm not going to tinker with the subtle nuances of overclocking, instead doing it gently and simply even if at all is more my thing. It would appear that I should look at DDR5 memory and that's something I will do although I'm not sure what speed I'd need for the new board.
 
you need to balance the mobo, ram, storage and cpu so that they all work together well, fit your needs and budget.

so in the mobo specs you will see the ram speed it can run, for your budget it will probably say up to 6800mhz OC or 6600mhz OC.

in that case you can only look at ram kits with an XMP profile up to 6800mhz or 6600mhz because your mobo wont work with faster ram.

but most people are going for slower kits to save money, such as 32GB 6000mhz C36.
 
darrenkarp said:
It seems even the lowest cost ROG Z790 DD5 board in the UK is currently £440 compared to the ASRock at £240. That's a huge difference and I'm sure there's equally huge differences between the two boards and I need to understand these differences just in case there's a feature I think I may need either now or in the future...
Click to expand...

If we compare the tech specs, ROG Z790-A D4 versus PRIME Z790-P D4:

Rear I/O
- 1 extra USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-A and 1 extra USB 3.2 Gen 2 type-C.
- 2 extra USB 3.2 Gen 1 type-A ports (the Z790-P swaps these for 2 USB 2.0 ports).
- Realtek ALC4080 versus Realtek (unspecified?). You get 2 extra jacks, SPDIF and a (headphone?) amp.
- BIOS flashback and clear CMOS buttons.

Internal
- 1 extra M.2 slot (4 total).
- 2 extra case fan headers (5 in total).
- TPM header is removed.
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 header which supports PD 3.0 & fast charging (up to 30 watts), for case front panel.

Build
- 16+1 (70A rated) power phases, versus 14+1 (50A rated).
- 5K rated capacitors (versus 2K?).
- Heatsink design looks very, very similar, but it doesn't extend to all the M.2 slots on the Z790-P and only the ROG has an RGB logo.
- M.2 slots are latched (screwless), but it seems like only 2 of them?

Other
- ROG I/O shield is pre-installed, PRIME is loose.
- Software which is only included with ROG boards: GameFirst, Sonic Studio and DTS Sound Unbound.
- ROG-branded accessories.

My opinion (disclaimer: Tetras is now bored):
- USB: depends how much USB stuff you have (or plan to use).
- 3 M.2 slots is enough, if it isn't then just buy a bigger drive :D
- audio: meh. If you care about audio, you're unlikely to care about onboard audio (though like I said earlier, audio is not my thing).
- Power phases: meh.
- Capacitors: meh.
- rear I/O buttons: could be useful, I guess, if you're lazy.
- case fan headers: meh.
- Heatsinks: junk.
- RGB logo: junk.
- Accessories: junk.
- Software: junk.

Edit, oops I missed this thing (not present on the PRIME):

"The Thermal Sensor header allows you to connect a sensor to monitor the temperature of the devices and the critical components inside the motherboard. Connect the thermal sensor and place it on the device or the motherboard’s component to detect its temperature."

My rating: meh.
 
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So basically for what I can read above from Tetras, just go for the ASRock cheaper board and you'll be happy.
 
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dazzystar said:
So basically for what I can read above from Tetras, just go for the ASRock cheaper board and you'll be happy.
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:D I did try to be neutral. For the average gamer I think it is pointless, yes, but I can see some cases for the extra features. For example:
- If you use a lot of high-speed USB devices, like a games development PC, simulators, VR, then it could be helpful to have more and higher-speed USB ports.
- If you want to put together a consistently themed (preferably RGB) build, that looks good through a window.
- Gaming with headphones/headset and connecting with higher-end digital audio equipment.
- Overclocking with a high-end CPU (not just a dabble at it).
- Longer-term multi-threaded workloads, like a production PC with a 13700K/13900K.
 
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